PRESSURE'S ON -- 15,000 TICKETS REMAIN FOR RAIDERS OPENER

As the Raiders look to sell 15,000 tickets to avoid a non-
sellout for their return to the Bay Area, Mark Purdy writes in
this morning's MERCURY NEWS that Coach Mike White "must shoulder"
the burden of attracting fans to the Coliseum this season -- and
avoiding a taxpayer bailout. Purdy: "Winning will sell $61
tickets in the Bay Area. Losing won't" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS,
8/28). In this morning's S.F. CHRONICLE, Glenn Dickey writes
that Sunday's game will be "critical to the gate" for the rest of
the season: "This is not an area which embraces losers, or even
mediocre teams ... if the Raiders do not come out of the gate
fast, there will be a lot of unsold tickets for later home games"
(S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/28). TNT's "Pro Football Tonight" looked at
the L.A. football vacuum. TNT's Kevin Kiley: "The owners did a
smart thing. They agreed that no team could move to Los Angeles
without 23 of 30 owners voting to O.K. the move. What does that
mean? It means there will be no maverick move, a la Al Davis"
(TNT, 8/27).